U.S. President-elect Barack Obama may consider Lawrence Summers as a successor to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, whose term expires in January 2010, a Democratic source told Reuters on Friday.

The New York Times reported that Summers, a former treasury secretary, is likely to be named as an economic adviser to Obama with the expectation that he will eventually be tapped for the Federal Reserve Board.

Citing two sources familiar with the Obama transition, the newspaper also said Summers could perhaps succeed Bernanke.